Gibbs says he won't pursue jobs

"I'm not going to pursue jobs," the former Washington Redskins coach said yesterday during a session to promote NBC-TV's coverage of the Super Bowl.

Gibbs said he doesn't think he has any contractual obligations to the Redskins, but he's not going to press the matter.

"I think the Redskins' stand was wrong," he said. "I think I've done everything I could do. I think it's going to be up to other people to make those decisions. If there's a change in any philosophy, it's going to have to come from someone else."

Gibbs seemed to be saying that if another team wants to pursue him, it has to clear up his status with the Redskins.

He said he's not going to call owner Jack Kent Cooke, whose position is that Gibbs is under contract to the Redskins until next February. Gibbs resigned March 5.

"I don't think it's up to me to call him to go pursue things," Gibbs said. "If I'm going to coach again, which none of us knows, then somebody will come after me. I don't think that's my place to go calling people around the league."

Gibbs has said he doesn't want to coach in 1994 because he wants to watch his son play his senior year at Stanford.

The expansion Carolina Panthers, who won't play until 1995, asked permission to talk to Gibbs, but didn't pursue the matter when it was denied, although they've yet to hire a coach. There has been some speculation that Cooke might release Gibbs once he hires a new coach. He's expected to hire Norv Turner, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator, next week.

Maryland memories

When former Maryland quarterback Frank Reich brought the Terps back from a 31-0 deficit in 1984 to beat the University of Miami, 42-40, the coach of the Hurricanes was Jimmy Johnson.

Reich, a backup quarterback for the Bills, remembers what Johnson, now the Cowboys coach, said after that comeback.

"We walked by each other and he said that this would be a game I would remember for a long time," Reich said. "The score was kind of getting run up, but we didn't come back because they sat on the ball. We just executed and scored touchdowns six straight times."

Bills go indoors

The Bills worked out at the Georgia Dome yesterday because of rain and standing water at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. Coach Marv Levy said the team "got in some good quality work" during the two-hour session with pads.

"I was glad for the opportunity to use the site of the game," he said. "It was beneficial and we had a good practice. The concentration was good, as was the execution."

Dallas defensive lineman Charles Haley missed practice for the second straight day with his bad back. "We didn't want to risk trying him the cold weather," Johnson said after the team practiced in a light rain. "I don't think we'll know how much he'll play until Sunday."

Haley, listed as questionable, said, "My back is really hurting right now. It has a calm down a lot before I can go out and play."

No guarantees?

Johnson isn't making any guarantees this week the way he did against San Francisco last week. But he did the next best thing yesterday.

Reminded that he said after last year's Super Bowl that he felt after the Thursday practice that the Cowboys would beat the Bills, Johnson was asked if he had similar vibes this year.